Bulldogs Fall to #23 Eastern in Freedom Title Match

Senior Joann Rivera had a team-high five kills in the loss at Eastern on Saturday.

St. David's, PA (October 7, 2009) – The DeSales University volleyball team fell short in its quest for a second Freedom Conference championship over the last three years falling to 23^rd ranked Eastern University, 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-14), in the title match on Saturday evening.

The Bulldogs fall to 21-8 overall with the loss, while the Eagles improve to 30-4 overall and earn the Freedom Conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. DeSales will await the NCAA Tournament pairings which are scheduled to be announced on Monday morning to see if the Bulldogs get one of the 19 pool “C” bids. DSU entered the week ranked #8 in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings. If DeSales does not receive one of the 19 pool “C” bids they will likely receive a bid into the ECAC South Region Tournament, which will also be announced on Monday.

On Saturday DeSales fell behind early in each set and was never able to get anything going on its serve. The Bulldogs were within 9-8 on their serve early in the third set but a service error into the net spoiled the rally as the Eagles went on a long run to close out the match, 25-14.

Leading the attack were seniors Joann Rivera (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom) and Jen Mellon (Media, PA/Penncrest). Rivera totaled five kills with no errors and Mellon had four kills and no errors and added two blocks in the loss.

Senior Kerri Andrews (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic) had a team-high 10 kills and freshman Justine McNulty (Collegeville, PA/Methacton) totaled 18 assists and seven digs. Junior Kylie Fehnel (Nazareth, PA/Bethlehem Catholic) finished with four kills, nine digs, and a block for the Bulldogs.

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